TETONIA, Idaho — Last week Idaho Fish and Game (IFGD) euthanized a sow grizzly and two cubs after the bears increasingly showed little fear toward humans and became habituated to areas near homes in the Tetonia area northwest of Driggs.
According to Fish and Game, there were no relocation sites available in Idaho because of consistent habituation and the potential for human risk, so officials determined these bears should be removed from the population.
“These grizzlies had been causing trouble close to human activity now in three different locations,” Idaho Fish and Game official James Brown said.
The sow grizzly and cubs first became a public safety concern this fall in the Mammoth area of Yellowstone National Park where they frequented and exhibited habituation to developed residential areas. The grizzlies then ended up in Gardiner, Montana, where they again became a human safety concern, and spent much of their time foraging next to homes.
On Oct. 17, all three bears were relocated south of West Yellowstone, Montana. A GPS collar placed on the sow showed the bears made their way south through Wyoming and Idaho, before they settled and spent the last several weeks in residential areas outside of Tetonia. According to IFGD data from the GPS collar and on-the-ground observations showed the sow and cubs continued to spend a considerable amount of time near human populations.
IFGD personnel spent significant effort keeping tabs on the bears since they first arrived in the Tetonia area on Oct. 28. Officers and biologists canvassed neighborhoods on a daily basis and visited with homeowners to make them aware of the bears’ presence. Staff also provided information on the proper storage of attractants in an effort to prevent the bears from gaining human food rewards from trash or other unnatural sources.
The bears were euthanized on Nov. 9 and 10.
